Excel or ERP? 8 signs your business has outgrown spreadsheets
Spreadsheets are a good start. But when stock, sales, accounts and payroll live in different files, nobody sees the real numbers until month end. Here are the signs it is time for one system.
8 signs you have outgrown Excel
- Stock never matches. The count in the store and the number in the file are different, and nobody knows why.
- Several versions of the truth. Sales, the store and accounts each keep their own file, and they disagree.
- VAT and payroll take days. Someone copies numbers by hand every month, and one wrong cell costs money.
- You cannot answer "did this customer pay?" quickly, or see who owes you what today.
- You learn your profit months later, when the accountant finishes the books.
- Everything depends on one person who knows how the files work.
- More than a few people edit the files, and changes get lost or overwritten, with no record of who changed what.
- You make products and do not know the real cost of each one: materials, packaging, labour.
When Excel is still fine
- One or two people, few products, no stock to track, and simple invoicing.
- An accountant who keeps the books and files VAT for you every month.
What changes with an ERP
- One place for customers, items, stores, invoices, payments, purchases, production and payroll.
- Stock moves when you sell or buy; accounts update by themselves; VAT and payroll are calculated as you work.
- Each person has a login and sees only what they need; every change is recorded.
- Profit, stock value and who owes you, any day.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Laws and rates change; check with the Ministry of Revenues or your accountant before you file.